Lighter carrying marine vessel

ABSTRACT

A marine vessel having a stepped cargo deck for selective float loading and unloading lighters. The open sided cargo deck is stepped upward in a plurality of steps from amidships to both ends of the vessel for receiving a lighter on each step. A supporting hull is compartmented into a plurality of trimming tanks and pumps provide power for pumping water into and out of the trimming tanks for trimming the vessel. The vertical distance of each step from adjacent steps is coordinated with a selective trim of the vessel to provide a lighter floating depth of water over each of said steps as selected and in any sequence. Thus by merely changing the vessel&#39;&#39;s trim, lighters may be float loaded and unloaded singly and in any order.

United States Patent [1 1 Paxos Nov. 27, 1973 LIGHTER CARRYING MARINEVESSEL [76] Inventor: l lgctgr V. Paxos, 2728 Valentive'CF11NmQrlsaaaLaZOl1 [22] Filed: July 10, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 270,408

[52] US. Cl. 114/43.5, 114/77 A [51] Int. Cl. B63b 35/42 [58] Field ofSearch 1l4/43.5, 72 R, 77 R, 114/77 A, 65, 78; 214/12, 13, 15 R [56]References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,682,751 7/1954 Bock 1l4/43.51,901,877 3/1933 Maloney. 114/43.5 2,406,084 8/1946 Levin 114/43.53,515,085 6/1970 Auzins.... ll4/43.-5 3,556,036 1/1971 Wells l14/43.53,403,652 10/1968 Hardy 114/43.5 3,019,757 2/1962 Bailey 114/85 PrimaryExaminer-Duane A. Reger Assistant Examiner-Galen L. BarefootAtt0rney.lames B. Lake, Jr.

[5 7] ABSTRACT A marine vessel having a stepped cargo deck for selectivefloat loading and unloading lighters. The open sided cargo deck isstepped upward in a plurality of steps from amidships to both ends ofthe vessel for receiving a lighter on each step. A supporting hull iscompartmented into a plurality of trimming tanks and pumps provide powerfor pumping water into and out of the trimming tanks for trimming thevessel. The vertical distance of each step from adjacent steps iscoordinated with a selective trim of the vessel to provide a lighterfloating depth of water over each of said steps as selected and in anysequence. Thus by merely changing the vessels trim, lighters may befloat loaded and unloaded singly and in any order.

2 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures LIGHTER CARRYING MARINE VESSEL The inventionrelates to lighter carrying marine vessels, and more particularly tomarine vessels in which lighters are float loadable and unloadablesingly and in any order.

Heretofore lighters have been loaded in marine vessels by cranes as inLASl-l vessels, or the vessels have been trimmed for all lighterpositions thereon to be simultaneously covered by lighter floatingdepths of water.

It is an object of the invention to provide a marine vessel in whichlighters may be loaded and unloaded by trimming the vessel for eachlighter to be waterborne independently of the others in its place and inany desired order on the vessel.

Other objects and a more complete understanding of the invention may behad by referring to the following specification, claims and drawings, inwhich:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a marine vessel according to the invention,

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of said vessel, and

FIG. 3 is an end view of said vessel.

Referring to FIGS. 1-3, the invention comprises aship 1 1 with a steppedopen sided cargo deck 12. A hull 14 supports cargo deck 12 and isdivided into trimming tanks 16 that are operably connected with pumps 17installed in an end 18 of said vessel for selectively flooding andemptying trimming tanks 16 to longitudinally trim the vessel to anydesired waterline 20. The waterline 20 can be conformed to any of thesteps 1-10 of the cargo deck 12 to provide floating depths of waterthereon and on no other step for floating a lighter on or off said step,and similarly for other steps and lighters respectively therefor. Thesteps 1-10 are vertically spaced apart distances that in cooperationwith individually specific trims provides lighter floating depths overonly a specified step at a time.

Thus referring to FIG. 2, the waterline 20 can be shifted from a towingtrim A to a loading trim B in which the amidships steps and 6 are theonly ones providing a draft sufficient to float lighters 22 intoposition thereon. Trim B is accomplished by equally flooding an equalnumber of fore and aft trimming tanks 16. By unequally flooding fore andaft trimming tanks 16 each of the other steps can be independentlycovered to a depth sufficient to float a-lighter by trimming a loadingtrim C-D, E-F, D-C, and F-E and trims intermediate thereto. Castings 24are mounted on the steps of cargo deck 12 and adjusted for the anglematching the attitude of a lighter ,22 when the vessel is trimmed forfloating said lighter onto a step.

Hull 14 is stiffened by a longitudinal walkway 26. Power jacks 28 aremounted on said walkway for holding lighters in place on theirrespective steps after they are positioned thereon with power winches30, also mounted on walkway 26. I

What is claimed is:

1. A lighter carrying marine vessel, having fore and aft ends,comprising:

a hull defining a plurality of independently floodable trimming tanksbetween said fore and aft ends of said vessel, for trimming said vesselfore and aft to any desired waterline; an open sided cargo decksupported on said hull for receiving lighters through said open sides; aplurality of successive athwartship step means, defined by said opensided cargo deck, extending between its open sides, said step meansrising in respective fore and aft directions from a low amidship stepmeans, the rise of each successive step means being coordinated with aselected trim of the vessel for respectively providing a waterline withlighter floating depths of water over a step means associated with saidspecific trim; and a pump mounted in an end of said vessel and operablyconnected to said trimming tanks for the independent flooding andemptying thereof, whereby said vessel can be trimmed for loading andunloading a lighter through said open sides on and off any step means inany sequence and without floating any other lighters loaded on theirrespective step means.

2. Method of singly and in any sequence float load and unload lighterson to and off of respective steps of an open sided, transversely steppedcargo deck of a I lighter carrying vessel having trimming means mountedplace and unaffected on their respective steps.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION v patent 7 DatedNovember 27, 1973 Inventor(s) Hector Z S It is certified that errorappears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent arehereby corrected as shown below:

On the Cover sheet I76] "Hector V. Pajcos" should read Hector V. PazosSigned and sealed this 17th day of September 1974.

(SEAL) Attest:

McCOY M. GIBSON JR. C. MARSHALL DANN Commissioner of Patents AttestingOfficer USCOMM'DC 60376-P69 US GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 5 I9?0-366-334,

] FORM PO-1050 (1069) I

1. A lighter carrying marine vessel, having fore and aft ends,comprising: a hull defining a plurality of independently floodabletrimming tanks between said fore and aft ends of said vessel, fortrimming said vessel fore and aft to any desired waterline; an opensided cargo deck supported on said hull for receiving lighters throughsaid open sides; a plurality of successive athwartship step means,defined by said open sided cargo deck, extending between its open sides,said step means rising in respective fore and aft directions from a lowamidship step means, the rise of each successive step means beingcoordinated with a selected trim of the vessel for respectivelyproviding a waterline with lighter floating depths of water over a stepmeans associated with said specific trim; and a pump mounted in an endof said vessel and operably connected to said trimming tanks for theindependent flooding and emptying thereof, whereby said vessel can betrimmed for loading and unloading a lighter through said open sides onand off any step means in any sequence and without floating any otherlighters loaded on their respective step means.
 2. Method of singly andin any sequence float load and unload lighters on to and off ofrespective steps of an open sided, transversely stepped cargo deck of alighter carrying vessel having trimming means mounted therein for foreand aft trimming of said vessel, comprising the steps of: trimming saidvessel with said trimming means to a fore and aft waterline forsubmerging an associated step to a lighter floating depth of water;prearranging said steps from a low amidship with successive fore and aftrises that are sized to provide less than lighter floating depths ofwater over all other steps than said associated step; and floating alighter on and off said associated step , other lighters remaining inplace and unaffected on their respective steps.